In 1998, Texas decided that the encroachment of development on cemeteries was a serious problem that needed attention before too many graveyards were bulldozed into oblivion or drive-through windows ended up facing funeral processions. So the state created the Official Historic Texas Cemetery Designation Program. Cemeteries now are being recorded on deeds, tax appraisal records and in the Texas Atlas, a database of 238,000 historic and archeological site records documenting Lone Star history.
Having the information on the books in as many places as possible makes it more likely that present and future landowners will be aware that these cemeteries exist. Planners can use the information to minimize the impact of new roads or other projects. To date, Texas has designated 130 cemeteries out of the 40,000 to 50,000 located in the state. "If we can get it shown on many maps, the chance of getting it preserved is greater," says Gerron Hite, cemetery preservation coordinator, Texas Historical Commission. "We're not saying we can stop progress, but we can work around a cemetery if we know early on."
Cemeteries nationwide are threatened by burgeoning subdivisions, new shopping centers and other development that often comes to surround what were once peaceful havens. But the problem is particularly acute in the South, where family graves in backyards were more common. State and local governments are trying to intervene before too many more cemeteries are desecrated and history lost.
Stories abound about cemeteries being ignored or going unnoticed as building occurs. A couple in Madison County, Kentucky, bought a house and found a 19th-century graveyard in the front yard. In Houston, a family in a new subdivision dug a hole for a swimming pool and found graves. At the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas, two small cemeteries ended up wedged between runways.
Last year, commissioners in Cherokee County, Georgia, appointed a five-member Cemetery Preservation Committee. They then took on a project to map all the cemeteries in the county as a way to protect them from development. The commissioners also passed an ordinance to require a 50-foot buffer around burial grounds.
In Jessamine County, Kentucky, where there are a large number of abandoned cemeteries and quite a bit of development going on, a proposed protection ordinance is in the works. It would establish guidelines for developing or dividing land with cemeteries, and for the general upkeep and security of inactive and private family cemeteries. If it passes, it will be one of the few countywide ordinances in the state, according to the historical society. "We just want to make sure these cemeteries are preserved and taken care of, not necessarily rebuilt," says County Judge/Executive William Neal Cassity.
Under Texas law, where there is a burial, there is a cemetery. Even after the land is sold, it cannot be used for another purpose unless the owner goes to court, the remains are relocated and the designation of the land as a cemetery is changed. Removing bodies without permission is a felony.
The many small family cemeteries in Texas are key sources of local history, revealing a vast amount of information about people, events, religion, lifestyles and genealogy. They often serve as a directory of the early residents of communities, Hite says. And development isn't the only threat to them. In addition to natural deterioration, vandals come through and deface or steal items. Where cemetery fences have fallen in rural areas it's an invitation for cattle to stomp through, which can cause a lot of damage.
In the 1999 Texas legislative session, a bill calling for an "adopt- a-cemetery" program was introduced, akin to adopt-a-highway programs found in many states. The plan was for local organizations to get involved in cemetery preservation by donating material for cleaning up, repairing fencing and doing other maintenance activities. The bill didn't pass, but preservationists will try again in 2001.
